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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. chair — a leader
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. sharp — clever
  8. wind — moving air
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. scale — in music
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. perch — the fish
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. scale — size or range
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. pass — a permit
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. wind — moving air
  24. chip — for betting

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com